In the posh Victorian-era town of Cheesebridge the residents live in fear from a dark threat lurking beneath the paving stones of the town. At least that’s what the evil Archibald Snatcher (Voiced by Ben Kingsley); pest exterminator would have you believe. If he can exterminate all of the town’s terrors he’ll receive the coveted White Hat and be able to join the esteemed Lord Portley-rind and his council of cheese lovers. In reality these evil-lurkers are the harmonious and sweet Boxtrolls.
They live in harmony beneath the city in a cave world populated with their ingenious contraptions and devices made by the towns peoples’ junk. They’re reusing and recycling and complimenting the humans even though they don’t realise it. The Boxtrolls each have their own tortoise shell-like box with their name deriving from the boxes original contents.
One of the main characters is Fish voiced by Dee Bradley Baker. He’s looking for his friend Eggs. Eggs is different and distinctly un-troll like. He is the famous Trapshaw Baby, a fable touted around town to continue the demonisation of the Boxtrolls by Snatcher. According to him the baby was stolen from his father and eaten alive in the sewers. The reality is very far from that.
One by one the poor Boxtrolls are snatched from the streets, their numbers dwindling below ground. Eggs, now grown up decides he must do something about it and becomes braver exploring the world upstairs. There he meets Winnie, daughter of Lord Portley-Rind. She is intrigued by the odd boy-in-a-box and has an obsession with the gorier details of the anti-Boxtrolls propaganda. Together they plan to free the Boxtrolls and unite the town.
The Boxtrolls is the third stop-motion animation from Laika, the studio responsible for Coraline and ParaNorman. The ingenuity on display is incredible and completely top-notch. The sets are rich in detail and dizzyingly complex. The film is in 3D and the first glimpse you get of the Boxtrolls lair is vertigo-inducing as you fly down their roller coaster through all their inventions. The characterisation too is spot on; the beautiful puppets (crafted by Mackinnon and Saunders) are so expressive and thoughtful looking.
Some moments brought tears to my eyes (or maybe that was 3D eye-strain). The script is warm and witty and thoroughly sinister when it needs to be. Archibald Snatcher is a particularly creepy villain and hideous when he’s had a taste of cheese and his swelling allergy kicks off. I know as a kid I’d have been horrified (and loved it). Snatcher also moonlights as Madam Frou-Frou a fabulous Drag Queen songstress who sings of the Boxtrolls’ demise to enthralled and blood-thirsty audiences.
For me this trumps any Disney CGI by a mile. Despite the ingenuity that goes into both forms of animation there’s something special about the fact that all these characters exist in the real world and have actually been in front of a camera. The amount of artistry involved is staggering and despite the fact that stop-motion films gross a fraction of other CGI efforts there’s still willingness for these films to be made and supported. The Boxtrolls is a film worth supporting; I can’t wait to see what they do next.
OVERALL SUMMARY
A warm, witty, exciting adventure in beautiful stop-motion animation that will delight/horrify young and old.
